Singapore Transit Procedures

I am planning to travel from Athens (Greece) to Sydney via Singapore with Singapore Airlines next March 2010.

I have never made such a long trip and am a little nervous because it seems I will only have 1 hour and 10 minutes to make the connection at Singapore. I am worried that I or my baggage may not make the Sydney flight, especially if I arrive and take off at different terminals.

Can you give me some idea of the procedure and let me know if I am worrying unecessarily.

Thank you very much.

Judith Richards

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Singapore Transit Procedures

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Aug 14, 2009

Singapore Transit: Transferring onto Your Onward Flight
by: Gabriel Tan

Hi Judith

I'm assuming that you travelling on SIA on a single ticket, so that yours is technically a 'transit stopover', whereby you are not required to leave the transit area.

If this is the case, you'll receive 2 different boarding passes upon check-in at Athens - one for Athens-Singapore and another for Singapore-Sydney.

For SIA to sell you an airticket with a 1 hour transit stopover, they would have gone through the works and verified that such an arrangement is possible.

I did a check and found out that both your arriving and departing flights use Singapore Airport Terminal 3. So you need not go from one terminal to another.

When you arrive at Singapore Airport, your checked in baggage will be transferred onto your onward flight by the airport handlers. You don't have to do anything about them.

After getting out of the plane and entering the transit area, look out for one of those electronic boards showing the flight schedules. Take note of the gate number for your onward flight to Sydney.

Then, have a quick look at the duty-free shops around the Transit Mall. But leave enough time to get to your gate - remember that Changi Airport is quite a big place.

There are always airport stewards around the transit area. If you are unsure of anything, just ask.

We Singaporeans are not very good at making small talk. Nor do we flash those warm smiles readily. But we are quite efficient at ensuring that nobody misses her flight, especially on a transit stopover!

Further notes about Singapore Transit:

1. For the benefit of everyone reading this post, do note that the transit areas of all the 3 main terminals are interlinked and it's quite easy to get from one to another by using the Skytrain or walking.

So if you have sufficient time, you may choose to move from the transit area of one terminal to another.

Whatever for? The duty-free shops are different. Also, there are different chill-out gardens at various sections of the transit area.

2. If you have bought 2 separate tickets - which means that your incoming flight is on a different ticket from your onward flight - ignore everything I said above. You'll need to clear customs/immigration, collect your checked-in baggage and re-check-in again.

Oct 31, 2009

Transiting in Singapore on Jetstar
by: Handoko

Hi, I will be transiting in Singapore from Surabay (SUB) using Jetstar on 3rd November 2009 arriving at 18:05. I have an onward flight using the same Jetstar to Manila at 20:20 (in one ticket).

Do I require to pass the immigration and check in again in Terminal 1 or I shall be in transit area only?

Nov 02, 2009

Budget Airlines Don't Do Transit Flights
by: Gabriel Tan

Hi Handoko

You can't possibly have bought a Surabaya-Singapore-Manila flight with Jetstar on a single ticket.

The budget airlines operating in Singapore, including Jetstar, do not offer single-ticket transit flights.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've likely bought Surabaya-Singapore on one ticket and Singapore-Manila on another. If this is the case, you'll need to clear immigration checks at Singapore Airport, and re-check in again for your onward flight at Singapore Airport.

Nov 02, 2009

Jetstar Flight SUB-SIN-MNL in One Ticket
by: Handoko

Hi Gabriel, thanks for your answer. It is indeed in one ticket SUB-SIN-MNL and vv. The ticket arranged by a travel agent in Manila and issued in one paper. Does this mean I need to report to Jetstar transfer desk only?

Nov 02, 2009

Your Ticket Likely a Combination of 2 Separate Flights
by: Gabriel Tan

Hi Handoko

My hunch is that your travel agent booked 2 separate Jetstar tickets each way and presented it as a single itinerary for you. That likely means you'll still need to clear immigration checks before proceeding to your onward flight.

4 November 09 Update:
Connecting Budget Flights in Singapore

The Jetstar hotline has advised that passengers travelling Surabaya-Singapore-Manila should clear immigration procedures at Singapore Airport and re-check in for the Singapore-Manila segment.

This concurs with what we know: Budget airlines generally do not offer transit stopovers. Budget airline routes are point-to-point.

Why is this important to travellers? If you are combining 2 budget flights with Singapore Airport as the mid-point, you need to ensure you fulfill Singapore entry requirements or you might not be able to clear immigration checks to get to your onward flight!

Feb 08, 2010

Transit at Singapore with one ticket
by: Ryan

Hi I am Ryan from the Philippines. I bought a roundtrip single ticket from Singapore Airlines from Manila to Perth.

I will leave Manila at 5pm and will arrive at Singapore around 8 pm. My next flight to Perth is on the next day around 7 pm.

I just want to ask if I am allowed to enter Singapore or I should only stay at the premises of the airport? If I am allowed, do I need to get my baggage or is it automatically transferred to my flight the next day.

Feb 10, 2010

Singapore Entry and Luggage
by: Gabriel Tan

Hi Ryan

1. Philippines passport holders generally do not need a visa to enter Singapore.

(To be certain for your specific circumstances, you must verify this with the Singapore Embassy in your country - since anyone else on the Web can only offer you information in an unofficial capacity.)

2. Luggage on a single ticket transit stopover is usually automatically transferred onto the onward flight.

(You need to verify this with the airlines upon check in.)

Have a good trip.

---------------------------------

Note to All Readers:

If you want the official advice about Singapore visa requirement and luggage transfer procedures, the fail-proof solutions are as follows:

1. To ascertain your Singapore visa requirement, contact a Singapore Embassy in or near your city. Here are the steps to verify your Singapore visa requirements.

2. To find out what will happen to your luggage during a transit stopover in Singapore, contact your airlines directly.

I'm not writing this in frustration, but I'm trying to make sure we all optimise the use of everybody's time, including yours.

This website, being

1. NOT an official voice of the Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority,

and

2. NOT an official voice of your airlines,

can only provide general, unofficial tips for your transit stopovers.

You get better leverage of your time going direct to the official bodies.

Thanks and have a pleasant transit in Singapore.
:-)

Sep 16, 2010

Chinese Transist at Changi Airport
by: Kim Guan

I have a group of friends from Fujian Province, China (take off from Xiamen City) intended to transists in Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia.

They have no problem to get the evening flight to Jakarta at the Changi Airport. However, on their return from Indonesia to China, they can't get a connecting flight in Singapore. That means they have to either sleep inside Changi airport or to stay a night in Singapore, to catch the next morning's flight to Xiammen, Fujian Province.

Kindly advise with their confirmed return ticket to Xiamen City, will ICA allow them to enter Singapore for short stay (may be just overnight)? If yes, what would be the max length of transist stay without a valid VISA to enter Singapore?

Thanks in advance,

Best Regards

KG

---------------------------

Hi Kim Guan

As I specified just one post above, kindly contact the ICA directly.

To all readers:

Please contact the ICA directly regarding immigration/transit/visa procedures. This is for your own benefit: you will get proper advice from the most relevant authority.

I'll proceed now to lock this thread. All subsequent posts on this thread will not be published.

Gabriel Tan as Admin

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